What do you think? I am considering restoring a live rabbit to my show (Mocha died some years ago and it didn't seem right to "replace" him and then life intervened and I didn't have time to do a lot of shows). There is some opposition now to the use of live animals. I would likely use the rabbit production as an opener now, rather than a closer, so that the rabbit can "chill" out in the open for the duration, and perhaps "do" a mind-reading trick or pick a card with his/her teeth (gotta take a deck when you buy the bunny).

Do birthday parents or schools ask you not to produce a rabbit now? Or is producing a rabbit still a sacred magician rite, like it was 15 years ago? It used to be a great up sell and one way to distinguish my show.

Thanks for any advice.

There are lots of opinions on this. You do you. I would investigate the laws in your area, before using them.

You can get a lot of mileage letting them play some quick games that everyone wins, line up to pet the rabbit and give them some tiny cheap prizes from Oriental Trading or US Toy - can kill a good 15 minutes and up your rate.

I would think if you have the rabbit in your advertising then if someone has an issue they won't hire you. Or you can ask in advance if there is any opposition to producing an animal. Personally, I'd do it. I'm very seriously contemplating adding one of my show chickens to my act. Training a chicken can be very time consuming so I'm trying to decide if I want to mess with it. The outcome would be great though.